039: disco dancer

 I am a disco dancer. Jindagi mera gana main usi ka diwana” this was my favourite song in my childhood. I wanted to become a film star and Mithun chakraborti was my ideal. I used to follow his dance moves and clothing. But there was a small problem. My father always used to come with me for a haircut. And he used to ask the barber to cut them small. And before they could grow to barely medium size, he used to take me again to the barber.

Then one day I went to my mom and said “mom, I am leaving home”

Mother got afraid and asked “why?”

“Father always comes with me for a haircut.”

There was an intense discussion at the dinner table. Mother and father fought to the best of their abilities. Mother was sobbing, she packed her clothes in a silver coloured aristocrat suitcase. And said “I am going to my mother’s place. Son, you can either come with me or go wherever you want.” And as usual father had to agree to our demand of freedom of getting a haircut done alone.

Next sunday, I went to the hairdresser and got a mithun da style haircut. He charged me double but cut hairs only between my ears and eyes. 

I was very proud of myself and came home in style. Dancing “I am a disco dancer …”.

My elder brother saw me, asked about the price and I told him the truth. Afterall we were siblings. He pulled me through my hair, and dragged me to the  floor.  “Mama, he has wasted money somewhere else and come back without cutting hairs.”

Mother and father took his side. And as a result I wasn’t allowed the feat another time

Long after that I met an alcoholic friend who said that he drank because he had unfulfilled desires. I also wanted to justify my drinking, I searched my life for unfulfilled desires. This one came handy. 

I forgot to tell you that I was a married man by then. My wife objected to my drinking. Being a caring husband I opened my heart to her. She pulled her hair and screamed “where did I get this unique piece”. I closed my eyes- thinking she would also pull my hair and drag me to the floor. Nothing happened for a long time. I opened my eyes only to see her doing anulom vilom to calm her down. “You better keep long hairs” she said lovingly. I had no choice but to leave alcohol. My hair grew, grew and grew. I started looking like a human from mohan jodaro. Neihter she nor my son liked it. 

One fine morning she came to me. Her manners were nicer than the morning breeze. In a voice softer than cuckoo. She said ”darling , we are going to be very rich soon”. I couldn't believe my luck and asked how.“ You have got a patch on your head. You are turning bald,”

I looked in the mirror. There was one. She said it's because of lice. If you keep long hairs, all your crop will go piece by piece.

I was back at the barber place, who looked at the patch carefully and told me “Sir this is not lice, someone has played with you and cut it with a scissor. If this would happen in our village a war would have followed”.

Well I did anulom vilom in the barber's chair and got myself a clean slate.

All characters in this story are fictional.

033: 4 LITTLE SISTERS - WOMEN’S DAY STORY

 033: 4 LITTLE SISTERS - WOMEN’S DAY STORY

4 little sisters were living in the city of Kanyakumari.

First was very religious. She used to follow all guidelines of religious scriptures and beliefs learned from parents. Second was money minded, influential and had many friends. She used to get things done. Third was a daydreamer. She wanted many things. Fourth was totally different. She wanted to find meaning behind everything. First three used to often quarrel bitterly among themselves. They used to make fun of the fourth one. Fourth one never paid attention to their teasing and used to behave nicely in return.

On the occasion of Shivaratri, a lady fortune teller came to their home. They were all excited to know about their future. Fortune teller said that they can ask one question each. First asked – what is the right thing to do? Second – where will I get money? Third – when will I get married? And fourth – what is this all about? Fortune teller didn’t answer them but whispered something to the ear of the fourth.  She then asked the first three to follow the fourth. 

Their mother observed that all four started living in harmony and were very happy. Their mother met the same fortune teller after many years. She told her about the positive impact fortune teller’s whisper had on their daughters. She was curious to know what the fortune teller told her fourth daughter. Fortune teller told her that the sisters were unhappy because they were working against each other. She did nothing but gave them a higher common purpose which ingrained a coordination among themselves. Purpose was so high that it kept them busy. It made them forget their small selfish wishes. They were no longer blindly going after their own trivial yearnings.  They were instead focusing their energy in one direction. As a result, they derived more gratification than earlier.

Mother has not felt more happy in her entire life. Mother renamed her daughters Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha as per their inclinations. Since they were miserable when not in unison, she asked them to stay together and named them Purushartha.

Fourth sister asked - we are all girls, why are you giving our group such a manly name?

Goddesses of wisdom “Saraswati”, wealth “Lakshmi”,  and power “Parvati '' incarnated in the first, second and third sisters. With them also came a white swan, a white owl and a lion. Fourth sister thought the lion would kill the mother as the lion approached her ferociously.  

Totally unfazed, mother stood her ground. She said “in sankhya and yoga philosophy- ‘purush’ is a word used for consciousness. People also call it spirit, ‘atma’, awareness and the like. ‘Artha’ in Sanskrit means meaning. Together it means “meaning of life”. My four daughters are perfect examples of an ideal life so I call them Purusartha.”

They were pleased by her in-depth response and courage. As per their expertise, goddesses gave mother boons in the area of knowledge, prosperity and strength. And then, goddesses went back to their respective adobe in their vehicles.  Sisters continued to live within their mother in best possible harmony.

032: LIVE YOUR WAY

032: LIVE YOUR WAY

“Were you born in a poor family?” asked David on the corporate dinner table. “No, my family was well to do”, I replied rudely. “Then, were you many brothers and sisters?” he asked jokingly. “NO, we are just 3 brothers,” I got conscious, I was well dressed in branded clothes, sporting the latest gadgets and a few ornaments. “Then, why do you eat so fast?” said David, who was a colleague and a very good friend of mine. Conversation happened when I was in the United States in my twenties. I thought he was pulling my leg just to tease me. After a few years, again on the lunch table, a female colleague asked “were you onsite to Somalia?” I calmly replied ”no”. She was furious “Then why are you eating like you are returning from famine.” 

I was in the age when a woman’s perception about him matters to a man.  I started taking it seriously. I started considering this a problem as I realised people were judging me on my eating speed.  

In my childhood, whenever we used to visit family friends, my mother used to instruct us not to eat all the biscuits from the plate. We always ensured to leave one biscuit on the plate and eat everything else. Other than this, there wasn’t any formal training on eating. I learned all by myself or by looking at others. I learned fork and knife during college days. I mastered chopsticks during my visits to east asia. I was aware of local customs of eating on banana leaves in south India  and on fig leaves in north India. I even practised the bhojan mantra sometimes, which I learned from some religious ashrams.

For some reason, I neither paid attention to speed nor did anyone tell me about it. 

I started becoming conscious of myself to the extent that I got myself enrolled for various training programs in global etiquettes. I attended training on fine dining, wine tasting, power dressing and a few more areas. All thanks to my then employers for having such wonderful training programs in their learning and development. I learned from yoga gurus and spiritual books about mindful eating. They stressed upon what to eat and what not. I turned from non vegetarian to vegetarian to moderately vegan. Prevailing weight loss consciousness influenced me in a way that I started eating less times a day. 

Sakshi bhav of meditation germinated in me in a way that I started watching myself from a distance. I observed that I was eating slowly only when I was eating consciously. I was eating fast whenever I was all by myself. I was eating even faster whenever I was too hungry. 

I went and discussed this with a few of my friends, but they had no solution. I left hope. 

I remained frustrated on the matter until I met an old friend. Finally, I took refuge in his advice, “be yourself and live your way.”

H031: एक पिल्ला

 H031: एक पिल्ला

एक कच्ची सड़क उनके घर पनखेत से गुजर रही थी।  वह समतल वी की तरह मोड़ लेते आधा किलोमीटर बाद जंगादेवी पहुंच रही थी। वहां से कुछ  हेयरपिन जैसे मोडो और त्रीव चढाई से होते हुए दो किलोमीटर बाद नौगांव खाल पहुंच रही थी। यहाँ उनका आधारिक विद्यालय था। उनके पिताजी के पास एक सरकारी जीप थी पर उस समय बच्चो गाडी से विधालय भेजने का चलन नहीं था। कोई पानी की बोतल या खाना भी नहीं ले जाता था।  सिर्फ किताबो का वजन ही उनकी उतनी छोटी उम्र के लिए बहुत जायदा था। पप्पू और संजू उनके बस्तो को पीठ में टांक कर पैदल इस रास्ते से पड़ने जाते थे। रास्ते में थकने और कुछ क्लासो के बाद मध्याह्न भोजन में अंगुलिया चाट लेने जैसा स्वाद आता था।

विद्यालय के पास एक कुतिया ने कुछ पिल्ले दिए थे। गांव के लोग उन पिल्लो को ले जाकर अपने घर में पालते थे। उस इलाके में गली के कुत्ते नहीं हुआ करते थे। पिल्ले बहुत प्यारे लग रहे थे।

वापस आते समय उन्होंने एक पिल्ले को पप्पू के बस्ते में रख लिया। फिर वह उनके पिताजी के दोस्त सहदेव की दुकान में रस्सी मांगने गए। जिन्होंने एक चावल के बोरे से सुतली निकला कर उन्हें दी. कुछ टॉफ़ी भी दी, पर बच्चो ने पापा डांटेंगे कहकर मना कर दिया। रास्ते में उन्होंने बस्ते को खोल कर पिल्ले की सलामती देखी। थोड़ी देर बाद, उसको कोई परेशानी न हो सोचकर पप्पू ने  उसे अपनी गोद में ले लिया। उन्होंने ने उसे झाड़ियों से हिसालु दिए पर उसने नही खाये। वह जंगादेवी पहुंचे और उन्होंने मंदिर के नल से पानी पिया।

"पप्पू  माँ यह पसंद नहीं करेगी," संजू बोला।
"पिताजी को मना लेंगे," पप्पू ने जबाब दिया।

वह अपने बंगले के गेट पर पहुंचे, वहां एक लकड़ी का पोल था जिसने बिजली के तार नहीं पड़े थे। माँ के डर के कारण उन्होंने पिल्ले को पोल से बांध दिया और घर चले गए। और जैसा वह हमेशा करते थे, उन्होंने अपना बस्ता, कपडे, और जूते बैठक कमरे के सभी दिशाओ मे फेके। माँ ने उन्हें पराठे दिए जो उन्होने चाय में डूबा के खाये। अपना पेट भरने के बाद कुछ पराठे उन्होंने पिल्ले के लिए छुपा लिए। भोलू के साथ वह पिल्ले को भी फुटबॉल खेलने सड़क में ले गए। दौड़ने के लिए वह बहुत छोटा था पर वह उनके साथ बॉल के पीछे चला।   

दिन ढलने पर उन्होंने पिल्ले को पोल से बांधा और घर आ गये। उस रात जब वह केरोसिन लैम्प की रोशनी में खाना खा रहे थे भोलू बोला "और पिल्ले का खाना?"

"कौन पिल्ला," पिताजी ने पूछा।
"पप्पू और संजू स्कूल से लाये हैं," भोलू ने रायता फैला दिया।

"मुझे नहीं पता, कहाँ है वह?" माँ ने आश्चर्यचकित हो कर पूछा।
"गेट के बाहर।" भोलू ने जबाब दिया।

पिताजी ने टोर्च लिया और सभी गेट की तरफ भागे।

“इन शैतान बच्चो को अपने कर्मो का कोई पता नहीं है। वह ठंड से मर जायेगा," माँ रोते हुए बोली। स्टोर वाले कमरे को साफ़ कर उसके लिए जगह बनायी गयी।  बोरे, पुराने कम्बल और चाद्दर से उसके लिये बिस्तर बनाया गया। उसे रोटी दाल और पानी दिया गया। अगले दिन वह घर में सभी जगह भाग रहा था। सभी खुश थे, पर माँ को सब सफाई करनी पड़ रही थी।

कुछ दिनों बाद माँ ने उसे दूध वाले को दे दिया। दूध वाला बहुत खुश था और सभी दुखी।

030:

H030: अवसर 

मैं जितना अच्छा भौतिक, रसायन और गणित मैं था, उतना ही कमजोर धार्मिक शास्त्र मैं था। मेरा रामायण और महाभारत का ज्ञान रामानंद सागर के रामायण और बी आर चोपड़ा के महाभारत टीवी श्रंखला तक सीमित था।  मैं कुछ सत्य नारायण की कथा में गया था लेकिन मैंने कहानी में कभी ध्यान नही दिया। मुझे त्योहारो की कुछ कहानियां पता थी लेकिन मैंने उनका अर्थ जानने की कोशिश कभी नहीं करी।

मेरी उम्र अठारह के पास आने वाली थी और शास्त्रो के अनुसार मेरा यगोपवीत होना था। मेरे लिए यह नामकरण के बाद दूसरा बड़ा समारोह था। मेरा जन्म रात में हुआ था, लेकिन मेरी जनम कुंडली में सुबह दस  बजे लिखा था।  माँ ने यह गलती पकड़ ली। और पिताजी ने पंडितजी से नयी कंडली बनाकर यगोपवीत संसकार की दिनांक निकालने को कहा।

सभी रिस्तेदारो और पारिवारिक दोस्तो को निमंत्रण भेजे गए। भाई और भाभी पूजा सामग्री लाये। माँ ने बहुत सारी साड़ियां आगंतुक मिहिलाओ के लिए थोक भाव में ली। कुछ रिस्तेदारो ने टेन्ट हाउस से अतिरिक्त बिस्तर, बरतन और शामियाना लाने में मदद करी।  पिताजी ने एक हलवाई को सभी  दिन खाना बनाने का ठेका दिया। खर्चे को सीमित रखने के लिए वीडियोग्राफर को बुक नहीं किया गया और घर के कैमरे से ही फोटो लेने की बात सभी को ठीक लगी। 

उस दिन पंडितजी आये और गणेश पूजा के साथ कार्यक्रम प्रारम्भ किया। कुछ महिलाओ ने सुयाल बनाने के लिए आटा गुन्दा और कुछ ने पारम्परिक कुमाऊंनी गाने गाये। सभी ने पीले व लाल रंग का पिछोड़ा पहना था।  उनके भारी सोने के आभूषण उनकी आभा में चार चाँद लगा रहे थे।  बूढ़ी दादी आमाये भी अपनी उम्र से काफी कम लग रही थी।  गाने, ख़ुशी और मजे का वह माहौल मुझे आज भी याद है।

बहुत तरह की पुजाये और धार्मिक कार्यक्रम हुए। उनमे कुछ विवाह के जैसे ही थे। भिक्षा और सन्यास भी उनमे थे। मुझे जल्दी नहा कर धोती पहनने को बोला था।  मुझे धोती पहनना नहीं आता था तो पंडितजी ने मेरी मदद करी।  उन्हें इसमे कोई आश्चर्य नहीं हुआ क्योंकि सभी युवा यह नहीं जानते थे। 

मुझे जनेऊ दी गयी। मुझे सभी धार्मिक पूजा के बाद भीक्षा और सन्यास की परंपरा का अभिनय करने को कहा गया।

पंडितजी ने बोला कि तुम अब दान मांग के लाओ।  मैं सभी के पास गया, किसी ने मुझे पैसे दिए तो किसी ने सिर्फ आशीर्वाद, कुछो ने मुझे डांटा।

फिर कुछ लोगो ने मुझे ज्ञान प्राप्ति के परिणाम स्वरुप घर छोड़ को जाने के लिए कहा। मैं अपना धनुष और वाण लेकर बाहर की तरफ गया।  सबने सोचा की मैं नीम के पेड़ से वापस आ जाऊँगा लेकिन मैं चलता चला गया और बहुत दूर निकल गया। 

वह सभी मेरे पीछे मुझे ढूंढ़ने आये।

"बेटा मैंने तुझे पाल पोश के बड़ा किया है ", माँ ने कहा।

"यह सब मिथ्या हैं माँ ", मैंने जबाब दिया।

"थोड़ी देर मैं खुद ही आ जायेगा ", छोटा भाई मजे लेते हुए। 

"अबे जा नौटंकी ", बड़े भाई ने बोला।

"संजू वापस आ जाओ, हम तुम्हारी शादी करा देंगे ", भाभी ने आश्वासन दिलाया।

एक किताबी कीड़ा जो सिर्फ बॉयज स्कूल मैं पड़ा था, जाल को समझ ना पाया और जिंदगी शुरू हो गयी।

कहते हैं अवसर सिर्फ एक बार ही आता है।

 030: Opportunity

I was good in physics, chemistry and mathematics but had almost no knowledge of religious scriptures. My knowledge of Ramayana and Mahabharata was limited to TV serial by Ramanand Sagar and BR Chopra. I had attended few Satyanarayana pujas but never paid attention to story. I knew some stories of various religious festivals but never tried to understand meaning in them.

I was reaching age of 18 and as per customs, yagyopaveet was due for me. It was the next big celebration for me after naming ceremony.

I was born in night and my horoscope mentioned birth time as 10AM. My mother caught the error. Father asked Panditji to first make a revised horoscope and then arrive at an auspicious date for ceremony.

Invitations were circulated to all relatives and family friends. Brother and sister-in-law bought puja items. Mother purchased many sarees for returns gifts at wholesale rate. Few relatives helped getting extra bedding, utensils, tent from the tent house. Father booked a caterer for cooking in days of ceremony. Videographer wasn’t booked due to budget constraints and it was decided that photos would be taken by our personal camera.

On the ceremony day, Panditji came and started the ceremony with Ganesh puja.

Some women kneaded the rice flour while few sung folk songs in Kumauni dialect. All of them were wearing a pichoda – a shawl with red spots in bright yellow background. Their heavy golden ornaments were adding the sparkle in their charm. Even the grand mothers were looking a lot younger than their age. Spectacular memory of music, fun and happiness are still fresh in me.

Several types of puja, religious rituals and local customs happened. Many of them were similar to a wedding ceremony. Two of them were alms and renunciation.

I was asked to take a shower early in the morning and then put on a dhoti. I didn’t know how to wear a dhoti so asked Panditji for help. He was not surprised at my inability as it was common in the new generation.  A bow and arrows were given to me. I was looking like a child warrior from ancient times. I was given the sacred thread of Janeu and then I was asked to perform custom for alms and renunciation.

Panditji said you have to go and get the alms. I went around asked relatives to donate. Some gave me money; some gave only blessings; and a few jokingly scolded me.

Then, some people asked me to act the renunciation as a result of enlightenment.  I hanged quiver on one shoulder and bow on another. With solid determination I walked out of gate. Everyone thought that I would be coming back from neem tree which was about 100 meters. But I kept on going and went too far. They came searching for me.

“Beta I have raised you”, pleaded my mother.
“This all is illusion mother”, I replied curtly.
“He will come back himself”, quipped younger brother.
“Go away drama”, said elder my brother.
“Come back Sanju, we will get you married”, assured my sister-in-law.

A book warm from boys’ only school could not resist the bait, I came back and the life started …

“Opportunity knocks the door only once.”